Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 14:34:18 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Maurice Barnhill Subject: Re: Perplexing gull - help needed MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I expect I'll get a chance to look tomorrow. Meantime, what about Iceland Gull? Ivory is more the size of a Ring-billed Gull than just smaller than Herring, and Iceland is quite a bit more likely (Metaphorically speaking, it is a horse, not a zebra). How sure are you about the leg color? In any event those mud flats are, well, pretty muddy, which could have an effect on the visible color of legs. Iceland seems more plausible than a black-legged albino Herring Gull. In physicist language, you only need one tooth fairy (leg color) to get an Iceland Gull, not two or three. Peter Mann wrote: > > I was at Bombay Hook this morning (I realize it's not Maryland, but I live > nearby, and I know there are serious gull experts on MDOsprey) > > Anyway, this bird was out in the mudflats at Shearness on the bayside). It > was medium to large (just a bit smaller than the Herring gulls nearby) and > was pure white - head, body, wings - both when it sat and flew) with black > legs and a mostly black beak. > > Could I have seen an Ivory gull? Is that possible ( my heart flutters just > thi8nking about it) > > How about an albino Herring - but should the legs and bill be black on an > albino bird? > > I'm stumped. Years ago, when I was a veterinary student, we were taught, > "When you hear hoofbeats, don't think zebras" > > So, not wanting to start a RZS (rare zebra stampede), I await your advice > and answers... > > Thanks > > Peter Mann > Galena, MD > ----- > > ======================================================================= > To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com > with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey > ======================================================================= -- Maurice Barnhill mvb@udel.edu [not bellatlantic.net] Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Delaware Newark, DE 19716 ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================